1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter of the invention relates to eyeglasses and more particularly to miniature reading glasses that rest securely on the wearer's nose in the Pince-Nez style.
2. Description of Related Art
Many people today have vision problems that require connection in order to lead normal lives. To this end the eyeglass and contact lens industry has developed. Within this industry is a wide variety of glasses types and styles. From as early as the 1300's, glasses were made that clamped on the nose. This was done by rotating the lenses around a pivot on the bridge between the two lenses into firm contact with the nose. Beginning in the 1840's, the Pince-Nez ("nose-pinchers" in French) eyeglasses were first worn. These glasses consisted of lenses, a metal rim around the lenses, cork nose guards and a spring bridge biasing of the lenses to clamp the nose. Later, in 1890, rimless eyeglasses were made by drilling holes in the glass lenses to hold the nose bridge and the temples to the lenses. The "rimless" innovation was added to the Pince-Nez eyeglasses to form a rimless Pince-Nez, although the metal spring bridge and nose guards remained.
In 1916, William R. Uhlemann, took the next step in Pince-Nez eyeglasses by inventing an "eyeglass bridge or arch" formed of a vitreous or transparent vitreous material such as glass, that is integrally connected to the eyeglass lenses, which resulted in the grant of U.S. Pat. No. 1,167,953. Joseph Pearson of England in 1938 secured British Patent No. 490,197 for his invention of spectacles made in one piece of "artificial molded material that is not glass" and comprising two lenses connected together by a connecting piece of the same material as that used for the lenses.
The problem with one piece eyeglasses such as those described by the PEARSON patent is that a large amount of reflected or refracted light from the edges of the lenses, the nosepiece, and the bridge comes into the wearer's eyes causing annoyance and possibly dangerous distraction. This phenomena, called "piping" creates prismatic disturbances which interfere with the visual characteristics of the lenses to reduce optical clarity. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a one-piece Pince-Nez eyeglass that avoids these reflections and refractions.